Fair-weather environmentalists

This year has been a rollercoaster of sorts on many grounds: the stock market, presidential election, economy and gas prices.

With so many things to worry about, it would be hard to worry about them all at the same time.

Who is honestly thinking about the high prices of gas, because who can remember the last time gas prices were so low? During the summer when prices were above the four-dollar mark, that was all everyone could think about, and a sense of the need to become a conservationist kicked in; people started driving less, walking more, and using public transportation. But that was the summer, it was warm, and it might have felt like the way to help out in that time of need.

Driving still emits the same amount of pollution, and burns the same amount of gas and oil. It still has the same impact on the environment, but who’s thinking about that now since prices are down.

People only care about the environment when by taking care of the environment they are taking care of themselves, in terms of limiting monetary expenditure.

This trend could be viewed in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid. Only after we’re feeling good, have money in our pockets, and feel safe and loved, then do we start thinking about things around us or about how we can have a positive impact.

Who can blame us? We need to survive, don’t we? The irony in all of this is that in order to survive we need to start taking care of the world around us. If we look out for the environment, the environment will look out for us. Most of us know all of this but just don’t care, myself included.